Dune and Philosophy

Explore the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune in all its philosophical richness

"He who controls the spice controls the universe." Frank Herbert's Dune saga is the epic story of Paul, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and heir to the massive fortune promised by the desert planet Arrakis and its vast reservoirs of a drug called "spice." To control the spice, Paul and his mother Jessica, a devotee of the pseudo-religious Bene Gesserit order, must find their place in the culture of the desert-dwelling Fremen of Arrakis. Paul must contend with both the devious rival House Harkonnen and the gargantuan desert sandworms--the source of the spice. The future of the Imperium depends upon one young man who will need to lead a new jihad to control the universe.

Dune and Philosophy recruits 23 philosophers to sift wisdom from Frank Herbert's Duniverse, including the first of an expected series of films following Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides and his descendants, captivatingly brought to the big screen by Denis Villeneuve in 2021. Part of the New Wave of science fiction of the 60s and 70s, Dune is characterized by literary experimentation with shifting styles, differing narrative points of view, and with the "psychedelic" culture of the period. In Dune, the long-term strategies and intricate plots of warring Great Houses are driven not just by Heighliner spacecraft and lasguns, but also by mind-expanding drugs, psychic powers, dystopian themes, race memories, and martial arts allowing control of the mind and the body. Substantial yet accessible chapters address philosophical questions including:

• Is it morally right to create a savior?
• Would interplanetary travel change human nature?
• What is the deeper meaning of desert ecologies?
• In conflict, how can you stay light years ahead of your opponents?
• Are there some drugs we would want to be addicted to?
• Does history repeat itself?

Tens of thousands of years into an intergalactic future, can humans endure or will we sacrifice what is most important in our humanity for power, glory, religion and of course, the control of the spice? Dune and Philosophy sets an intellectual course through sand and stars to find out.

Auteur

KEVIN S. DECKER is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University near Spokane, Washington. He is the co-editor (with Jason T. Eberl) of The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy and The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy and editor or co-editor of eight other anthologies of popular culture and philosophy. His book Who is Who? The Philosophy of Doctor Who was published by I.B. Tauris in 2013.

Texte du rabat

Explore the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune in all its philosophical richness "He who controls the spice controls the universe." Frank Herbert's Dune saga is the epic story of Paul, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and heir to the massive fortune promised by the desert planet Arrakis and its vast reservoirs of a drug called "spice." To control the spice, Paul and his mother Jessica, a devotee of the pseudo-religious Bene Gesserit order, must find their place in the culture of the desert-dwelling Fremen of Arrakis. Paul must contend with both the devious rival House Harkonnen and the gargantuan desert sandworms--the source of the spice. The future of the Imperium depends upon one young man who will need to lead a new jihad to control the universe. Dune and Philosophy recruits 23 philosophers to sift wisdom from Frank Herbert's Duniverse, including the first of an expected series of films following Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides and his descendants, captivatingly brought to the big screen by Denis Villeneuve in 2021. Part of the New Wave of science fiction of the 60s and 70s, Dune is characterized by literary experimentation with shifting styles, differing narrative points of view, and with the "psychedelic" culture of the period. In Dune, the long-term strategies and intricate plots of warring Great Houses are driven not just by Heighliner spacecraft and lasguns, but also by mind-expanding drugs, psychic powers, dystopian themes, race memories, and martial arts allowing control of the mind and the body. Substantial yet accessible chapters address philosophical questions including: Is it morally right to create a savior? Would interplanetary travel change human nature? What is the deeper meaning of desert ecologies? In conflict, how can you stay light years ahead of your opponents? Are there some drugs we would want to be addicted to? Does history repeat itself? Tens of thousands of years into an intergalactic future, can humans endure or will we sacrifice what is most important in our humanity for power, glory, religion and of course, the control of the spice? Dune and Philosophy sets an intellectual course through sand and stars to find out.

Contenu

Contibutors: Navigators, Mentats, Fremen, and Bene Gesserit viii

Introduction: "He Who Controls the Spice Controls the Universe" xiv
Kevin S. Decker

A Brief Dune Series Timeline xviii

Songs of Muad'Dib: Culture and Religion in Dune 1

1 Liberating Women's Bodies: Feminist Philosophy and the Bene Gesserit of Dune 3
Kara Kennedy

2 What Do Zendaya's Blue Eyes Really Mean? 14
Edwardo Pérez

3 The Golden Path and Multicultural Meanings of Life 24
Ethan Mills

4 Messiahs, Jihads, and God Emperors: Should Humanity Just Give Up Religion? 35
Greg Littmann

5 (Re)defining Masculinity and Femininity in Villeneuve's Dune 46
Edwardo Pérez

Arrakis Awakening: Science and Ecology in Dune 55

6 Spiritual Realm Adaptation: Arrakeen Spice, Terrestrial Psychedelics, and Technique 57
A.M. Houot

7 Thinking Like a Desert: Environmental Philosophy and Dune 67
Zach Vereb

8 Humans, Machines, and an Ethics for Technology in Dune 76
Zachary Pirtle

The Wisdom of Muad'Dib: Mind, Memory, and Interpretation in Dune 87

9 "Thou Shalt Make a Human Mind in the Likeness of a Machine": Imitation, Thinking Machines, and Mentats 89
Tomi Kokkonen, Ilmari Hirvonen, and Matti Mäkikangas

10 Herbert's Gholas: Mystical Legends and Scientific Inspiration 99
Jennifer Mundale

11 Psychological Expanses of Dune: Indigenous Philosophy, Americana, and Existentialism 108
Matthew Crippen

12 Thatched Cottages at Cordeville: Hegel, Heidegger, and the Death of Art in Dune 119
Kevin S. Decker

The Lens of Time: Freedom, History, and Evil in Dune 131

13 Should the Bene Gesserit Be in Charge? 133
Greg Littmann

14 Prisoners of Prophecy: Freedom and Foreknowledge in the Dune Series 144
William Peden

15 Time versus History: A Conflict Central to Herbert's Dune 153
Aaron Irvin

The Humanity of Muad'Dib: Morality and Ethics in Dune 163

16 Secher Nbiw and the Child's Right to an Open Future 165
Kenneth R. Pike

17 The Spice of Life: Hedonism and Nozick in the Dune Universe 173
Luke Hillman

18 "Less Than a God, More Than a Man": Is It Morally Wrong to Make a Kwisatz Haderach? 179
Alexandru Dragomir

19 That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Shai-Hulud: Self-overcoming in Nietzsche, Hinduism, and Dune 189
Steve Bein

Lessons of the Great Revolt: Politics and War in Dune 199

20 The God Emperor and the Tyrant: The Political Theology of Frank Herbert's Dune Saga 201
James R.M. Wakefield

21 Lessons from Islamic Philosophy on the Politics of Paul Atreides 211
Galipcan Altinkaya and Mehmet Kuyurtar

22 Why Settle for Hobbes's Sovereign When You Could Have a God Emperor? 221
R.S. Leiby

23 The Mind at War: Conflict and Cognition in Frank Herbert's Dune 229
Sam Forsythe

Index 239